Housing problems focus of council

Erin Neff

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 11:52 a.m.

Spending

Here is how the Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday to spend taxpayer money:

To CPM West for the application of slurry seal surface treatments throughout the city.

To City Plan Development Inc. for construction of restroom structures and improvements at Doolittle, Heers, Rotary and Woofter parks.

To Rowlett Construction Inc. for facility improvements at Fire Stations 1, 6, 8 and 42.

To Capriati Construction for Carey Avenue roadway improvements.

Sensing that the Las Vegas Housing Authority was simply paying it lip service, the City Council on Wednesday redoubled efforts to investigate troubles it claims are running unchecked in public housing.

Councilman Michael McDonald led the effort, calling on the city staff to request an audit by the U.S. inspector general's office.

The city has received complaints about the housing authority. Although the mayor and council make appointments to the housing authority board, that agency is accountable only to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As a result, McDonald's efforts to get information from housing authority Director Frederick Brown led to an uncomfortable cat-and-mouse game Wednesday, with Brown ducking questions and McDonald asking them two and three times in a row.

"I think it shows the lack of respect you have for our appointments (to the authority board)," McDonald said. "We want an open book. Our lines of communication with this board don't seem to be hitting home."

McDonald was initially troubled by reports that some nonsenior residents of Arthur Sartini Plaza were preying upon the seniors.

Sartini is now designated a seniors-only facility. But prior to 1999, those under the age of 62 who suffer some type of disability also were allowed spots in that complex.

McDonald complains that some of the disabled are merely substance abusers or mentally handicapped. By law, housing officials are not permitted to evict disabled nonseniors from senior housing.

The only thing housing officials can do is offer that resident a voucher to live elsewhere. However, many of the disabled residents at Sartini receive services -- such as shopping assistance -- that they don't want to lose by moving.

"Why are there non-seniors in senior housing?" McDonald asked, at first calmly, and then louder and angrier with each time Brown evaded the answer.

When the authority's attorney Karen Bennett explained the issue more clearly to McDonald, she suggested he assist housing officials to identify residents who may be violating terms of their lease by committing crimes.

"The eviction process, under federal law for people in public housing, is especially onerous," she said before asking for his help.

"I don't have any problem helping, but I don't want to do the (authority) board's job," McDonald said.

Brown didn't help matters by telling McDonald his authority scored 100 in a self-evaluation last year. That score is slightly higher than the 97 percent the authority gave itself in 1997 and 1998.

"That's almost like us as a board grading how we do," McDonald said. "We're all going to think we're doing the best job we can."

The council then agreed to McDonald's multifaceted motion regarding the housing authority.

The city will write to the U.S. inspector general's office asking for a full audit of the housing authority. City Attorney Brad Jerbic will contact Nevada's congressional delegation to verify statements authority representatives made to the council about its options in dealing with the housing authority.

The council also instructed acting city auditor Phil Cheng to request that the housing authority cooperates and allows him to conduct a review. Since no city funds are used in housing authority projects, Cheng's office can only conduct an audit with the written consent of the housing authority.

Lastly, the council voted to appoint McDonald to the first seat on the authority's board of directors that becomes open. Although one of the terms will be up in June, McDonald said he wanted to move faster.

"Time is not on our side," he said. "We have seniors living in fear."

City Manager Virginia Valentine said her staff would begin working on the different requests the council made Wednesday. She also said a city staff member will attend all housing authority meetings until McDonald can get appointed to the board.